Latest news with #TheFirstShadow
Time Magazine
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
The Writer of the Stranger Things Play on Working on Season 5 at the Same Time
It should come as no surprise that Stranger Things, the wildly popular Netflix show that premiered in 2016, now has a prequel. But in an unexpected twist, the new saga is not a television series or movie but a Broadway play. Stranger Things: The First Shadow serves as an origin story for Henry Creel—better known as Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower)—a major antagonist who is introduced in Season 4. Like Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven, Henry was born with telekinetic and psychic abilities and was subjected to cruel experiments by Dr. Brenner (Matthew Modine), a scientist intent on harnessing those powers. But unlike Eleven, Henry chose to channel his connection to the Upside Down for evil rather than good. But The First Shadow offers a sympathetic backstory for Henry before he became a killer. Set in 1959 Hawkins, Ind., the story follows a young Henry as he attends high school alongside teenage versions of familiar characters like Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper. Much like a season of the beloved show, the play serves up a long mystery—as well as some jokes, high school drama, and deep dives into nerd culture—as the citizens of Hawkins attempt to understand why people around them keep dying. Though longtime Stranger Things writer Kate Trefry had never written a play before when she agreed to take on First Shadow, the creators of Stranger Things—twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer—were adamant that the stage production needed to mimic the tone and style of the series and align with its mythology. They believed only someone from the Stranger Things writers' room could effectively bridge the world of the streaming series and the live show. Working from a story she co-wrote with the Duffers and writing vet Jack Thorne (Adolescence, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Enola Holmes), Trefry crafted the script for The First Shadow while co-writing the fifth and final season of the Netflix phenomenon. The hope was to create a live experience that deepens the story of the final season of the show—set to premiere in three batches this fall and winter—without revealing any major spoilers. After premiering in London in December 2023, the show moved to Broadway in April 2025. Louis McCartney, who played Creel in both productions, was nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play. The show was nominated for a handful of other Tonys, and won a special award for the show's jaw-dropping special effects. We talked to Trefry about how she dealt with a constantly changing Season 5—which was still being edited—and the surprising popularity of those demogorgon plushies. With something like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, your co-writer Jack Thorne was writing a prequel based on a completed text. What were the challenges of writing a prequel to a show that is not done yet? It sounds like everything was changing even as you were writing the play. It was trying to create a past for something whose future was not finished yet. It was really hard and a unique writing challenge. It needed to be something that agreed with everything that happened in Season 1-4 but also enhances Season 5—without giving away anything that happens in Season 5. And also you can't have needed to see the play in order to understand Season 5. It was this tiny keyhole to fit the story into. I was working on Season 5 and the play at the same time, so I was able to massage both sides to try to make them both as satisfying as possible. But it was probably too much. I never thought about anything else. How did you become the writer of the play? It was crazy of them to choose someone who had no playwriting experience. I had only ever worked on TV shows. But the goal was to make a play that felt like the show, and the only way to do that was to have someone who writes for the show work on the play. I don't think that anybody could come in from outside the show and understand the tiny nuances, not only of the mythology and the characters but straddling the upcoming season, being up-to-date on how things were changing moment to moment. The end of Season 5 would change between the morning and afternoon of a single day. And I was embedded in both places. Did you run into any problems with Season 5 changing? There was one thing I can't talk about. We actually sort of snuck it in the play. If you know what you're looking for you can see it. It's still there. Vecna doesn't show up as the Big Bad of this franchise until Season 4. When did he emerge as a character that the writers thought merited an entire play dedicated to his backstory? We had so many conflicting ideas for him. There was a lot of debate: Is he like Michael Myers—like inherently bad? Is he Damien from The Omen—like an evil boy under the influence of the Mind Flayer in a way that we don't understand yet? Who is the puppet master and who is the puppet? We had so many debates in the writers' room about what kind of Big Bad he was that it was easy to say, let's write an entire story answering that question. I would describe the audience as not your typical Broadway audience. People were screaming every time an easter egg was revealed. People were trying to film the play. It was like being at Disney World. I happened to see Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal in their respective plays in the few weeks before I saw First Shadow and those movie stars were not eliciting wild reactions quite like this. What is it about the show that provokes such an ecstatic response? It's funny, actually, that you say that. The girl who plays Eleven, obviously this is her Broadway debut. She's nine years old. And when she comes out on stage for a few minutes people stand up and start clapping and screaming, which is not the usual reaction to a debut Broadway performance. It's a lot of things. The audience skews really young and really green. The last statistic I heard was I think 65% of the people who come to The First Shadow have never been to a Broadway show before—excuse me, have never been to a play before. Wow. And so people are being introduced to the medium for the first time through the lens of a show and a piece of IP they really like. I think the response you saw is the pure shock and pure joy of seeing something performed live for the first time. If you've been watching stuff on your computer your entire life, and then you go to the theater and all of the sudden, action is happening and you can't figure out how it's happening because we have this spectacular illusions team getting into your brain—that's pretty visceral. It's pretty primal. I think that's a huge part of it. I think the other thing is, we've seen delays with Season 5 of Stranger Things with COVID and then the writers' strike. It goes on and on. I think people are excited to be stepping back into the world again for the first time in years. I saw the show dozens of times in London and New York, and it's the same whether you go to a Wednesday matinee or a Saturday night. It's the same level of absolute chaos. And it's wonderful to see kids coming with their parents and grandparents who have maybe never seen Stranger Things. It's an amazing way to introduce a new generation to theater. I saw that they were selling Demogorgon plushies. I don't know that I would want to fall asleep holding that thing. My kids have one, and they also have the breakable Prancer cat [a cat that unfortunately suffers the wrath of Henry Creel and has its bones broken in the play]. Oh! It's quite twisted. I did not know the show skewed so young. Obviously as the characters have matured, the show has gotten scarier over time. What is the demographic you were writing for when working on Season 5? Is it the same age group as almost a decade ago when the show began? And is it the same demo you were writing the play for? That's such a good question because I was writing the play at the same time as Season 5, so I conflated those audiences, for better or worse. Think of Season 1 as The Goonies. Over the seasons we've sort of aged up with the actors and audience into those high school years. So the show and now the play is kind of like, maybe a dark PG-13, like an 80s PG-13. Freshman and sophomore year of high school are, to me, a turning point for so many of us. Your identity is solidifying. So if you are going to tell the story of someone becoming evil, going through the major emotional crossroads that happen through puberty, the play can't be about 11-year-olds. It has to be about 15-year-olds. I also think people underestimate kids. I have a six-year-old, and she's like a teenager. I don't think you should take your six-year-olds to the show, but I've certainly seen them at the show. I think 10, 11, 12, is kind of the sweet spot, even if the show is about 14, 15, 16-year-olds. My toddler is only interested in older kids. Yeah my three-year-old is always copying the six-year-old, so I have two teenagers. They both call me, 'Bruh' now. I didn't realize that 'bruh' was still part of the cultural vernacular. Their generation is bringing it back. So I actually am pregnant with our second right now and during the opening scene of the show, which involves all these flashing lights, fog, and intense music—all part of a cinematic set piece involving a World War II ship—the baby was going crazy in my belly. How early in the process did you know you wanted to open the play with the sort of stunt that might appear on the TV show? From the jump. I didn't know how to write a play because I had never done it before. And they were like, 'Don't write a play. You don't know how to do that. Write the show.' Every season of the show starts with a cold open that introduces a supernatural element. Then we go into the mundane world of the everyday, and we explain how those things are connected to each other. So the idea of doing the Philadelphia Experiment [a fabled event from World War II in which the military made a ship disappear from the radar and supposedly transported it to another dimension] is something that we've talked about in the writers room for years. That conspiracy theory was top of mind. So when they threw down the gauntlet for me and said, 'Write whatever you want to write, and we'll figure out how to stage it—maybe we won't, but we'll try to make it feel like a TV show,' I was like, 'Okay, what about a real battleship on stage that disappears and goes to another dimension? You asked for it. Here you go.' And it's Stranger Things so we want people in awe. The play ends with the little Netflix 'Next Episode' button popping up on the stage. It felt very on brand for Netflix. Are they thinking about the play as a proof of concept for future stage productions? No. There were no strings attached, no expectations. I had pretty much complete creative control of what the story was. If there was any studio meddling, nobody ever came to me. They just kept saying yes.
Khaleej Times
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
‘Stranger Things' play wins Tony Awards, setting stage for TV series finale
With bloody body contortions, booming blasts and brooding high school angst, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, based on the 12-time Emmy-winning Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things, took home Tony Awards for best scenic design, lighting design and sound design of a play along with a special award for its illusions and technical effects. Miriam Buether, the scenic designer for Stranger Things: The First Shadow reflected on the journey of creating frightening moments on stage. "We love scaring people," she said backstage at the ceremony hosted by Wicked film star Cynthia Erivo. The play, directed by Stephen Daldry, was nominated for five Tony Awards in total, including best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for Louis McCartney for his performance as Henry Creel, the younger version of the main antagonist of the Stranger Things series who is later called Vecna. Stranger Things: First Shadow is one of the expansions of the 'Stranger Things' universe created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, who announced the launch of Upside Down Pictures in 2022, marking an overall deal with Netflix that will also include a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series. The series has spawned video games, cosplay, in-person immersive experiences and merchandise licensing deals, including the January 2025 deal with the company behind the popular Squishmallow plush toys. Last month, at Netflix's globally livestreamed fan event called Tudum Live, it was announced that the Stranger Things TV series would have a fifth and final season split into three parts, with part one on November 26, 2025, part two on December 25, 2025 and the series finale on December 31, 2025. The final season of Stranger Things was delayed by dual Hollywood strikes in 2023. Stranger Things, the story of a group of adolescent friends in rural Indiana in the 1980s who battle creatures from an alternate dimension called the Upside Down, premiered on Netflix in 2016 and became a smash hit created by the Duffer brothers for the streaming platform. The play, produced by the Duffer brothers, takes audiences back in time to 1959, two decades before the period explored in the TV show. Jim Hopper and Joyce Maldonado — adult characters in the TV show — are seen as high school classmates with normal teen concerns about cars and classes until a new student named Henry arrives. Henry Creel is an odd and troubled boy that holds the future of the small town of Hawkins, Indiana in his hands. The New York cast includes Harlem actor Burke Swanson as Jim Hopper, Shameless actor Alison Jaye as Joyce Maldonado and McCartney as Henry Creel, who reprised his role after being in the London production. The monster-filled play debuted in London in 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre and made its New York Broadway debut in March 2025 at the Marquis Theatre.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
‘Stranger Things' play wins Tony Awards, setting stage for TV series finale
NEW YORK, June 8 (Reuters) - With bloody body contortions, booming blasts and brooding high school angst, "Stranger Things: The First Shadow,' based on the 12-time Emmy-winning Netflix science fiction series 'Stranger Things,' took home Tony Awards on Sunday for best scenic design, lighting design and sound design of a play along with a special award for its illusions and technical effects. Miriam Buether, the scenic designer for "Stranger Things: The First Shadow" reflected on the journey of creating frightening moments on stage. "We love scaring people," she said backstage at the ceremony hosted by "Wicked" film star Cynthia Erivo. The play, directed by Stephen Daldry, was nominated for five Tony Awards in total, including best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for Louis McCartney for his performance as Henry Creel, the younger version of the main antagonist of the 'Stranger Things' series who is later called Vecna. 'Stranger Things: First Shadow' is one of the expansions of the 'Stranger Things' universe created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, who announced the launch of Upside Down Pictures in 2022, marking an overall deal with Netflix that will also include a live-action Stranger Things spin-off series. The series has spawned video games, cosplay, in-person immersive experiences and merchandise licensing deals, including the January 2025 deal with the company behind the popular Squishmallow plush toys. Last month, at Netflix's globally livestreamed fan event called 'Tudum Live,' it was announced that the 'Stranger Things' TV series would have a fifth and final season split into three parts, with part one on November 26, 2025, part two on December 25, 2025 and the series finale on December 31, 2025. The final season of "Stranger Things" was delayed by dual Hollywood strikes in 2023. "Stranger Things," the story of a group of adolescent friends in rural Indiana in the 1980s who battle creatures from an alternate dimension called the "Upside Down," premiered on Netflix in 2016 and became a smash hit created by the Duffer brothers for the streaming platform. The play, produced by the Duffer brothers, takes audiences back in time to 1959, two decades before the period explored in the TV show. Jim Hopper and Joyce Maldonado - adult characters in the TV show - are seen as high school classmates with normal teen concerns about cars and classes until a new student named Henry arrives. Henry Creel is an odd and troubled boy that holds the future of the small town of Hawkins, Indiana in his hands. The New York cast includes 'Harlem' actor Burke Swanson as Jim Hopper, 'Shameless' actor Alison Jaye as Joyce Maldonado and McCartney as Henry Creel, who reprised his role after being in the London production. The monster-filled play debuted in London in 2023 at the Phoenix Theatre and made its New York Broadway debut in March 2025 at the Marquis Theatre.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Stranger Things: First Shadow': Louis McCartney on ‘creating a language through the movement' to play the tortured Henry Creel
'When I get out there, I'm not giving first,' says Louis McCartney on the exchange of energy between him and the audience each night at Stranger Things: The First Shadow. "They're there and they're tapping, whooping, cheering, screaming immediately. They're ready to have a good night." McCartney plays the central role of Henry Creel in the new Broadway play, which serves as a prequel to the hit Netflix series. In a recent interview with Gold Derby, McCartney describes how the excited energy of American audiences helps propel him through a physically demanding performance. Stranger Things fans enter the theater already familiar with the character Henry Creel. Raphael Luce portrays a young version of Henry in a Season 4 flashback, while Jamie Campbell Bower embodies the adult version and his twisted villainous form known as Vecna. The First Shadow takes place in 1959, when a teenage Henry arrives in Hawkins, Ind. More from GoldDerby How Amy Sherman-Palladino's rapid-fire 'Étoile' dialogue kept French stars Charlotte Gainsbourg and Lou de Laáge on their toes Cyndi Lauper, Mariah Carey are your top choices for the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [Poll Results] 'Awards Magnet': The Emmy implications after Joel's death on 'The Last of Us'for Netflix McCartney says there is 'a strange giving and taking' between his stage iteration of the character and his on-screen counterparts. The actor points towards Bower's performance during a scene with Eleven in the Rainbow Room of Hawkins lab as particularly inspiring. 'It was revolutionary for me, for my work,' he explains, 'It kind of encapsulated his darker side. And in the play, I guess my job is to deal with this nerdy kid who is a good kid and he wants to do right.'Many of Luce's expressions helped McCartney draw a line between Henry's earnest younger self and his ultimate path to darkness. 'There's this haunted look of dissection,' he says of Luce's portrayal. 'He's constantly questioning if he wants to step away. And in our play, we're dealing with this tearing of structural values and morals in a young kid because he's so malleable. And my question was how do you connect the dots between Vecna and a nerd?' McCartney finds fascination in the 'dichotomy' that resides in Henry. He is careful to telegraph the boy's humanity while also showcasing the pull towards wrath and hate, due to a supernatural connection to the evil Mind Flayer of the Upside Down. 'He feels all these things constantly as he's trying to suppress them,' notes the actor. SEE'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' reviews: Critics praise the 'visceral thrill ride,' but lament its lack of 'emotional connection' The tender side of Henry is on full display within his unlikely friendship with Patty Newby (Gabrielle Nevaeh). For the first time, Henry finds someone with shared interests, with whom he can confide in. 'He'll follow somebody if they tell him what he's doing is good because that's what he wants. And when he meets Patty, it's this new version of good that he's never experienced before,' says McCartney. Patty is perhaps the only character who sees the good in Henry, one glimmer of light in his otherwise very dark world. 'She does say to him that being weird is okay and that it's okay to be yourself, which is a big question we throw at the audience the whole time, of how do you feel about yourself? And it's nice to see people fit in because a lot of us don't normally in our everyday lives,' notes McCartney. 'His relationship to fear, to social anxiety, to relationships, to happiness is something that I personally can feel at any point in my day as well.' The First Shadow is stuffed to the brim with eye-popping special effects. One of McCartney's most pivotal scenes involves a true test of the trust between Henry and Patty, as the two actors fight their way through a nightmarish vision sequence in the school bathroom. There will be no spoilers here, but safe to say that the terrifying illusions and physical feats in this sequence have the audience screaming and roaring with applause every night. 'That scene is just bonkers,' admits McCartney, as he describes the ultra precise timing and breathing required to execute each illusion. 'I get out of the scene and I'm absolutely pooped,' says the actor. 'It's so scary. It's so thrilling. I love hearing everybody's reactions.' In addition to these effects-driven moments, Henry also experiences countless fits of mental anguish and violent convulsions as dark forces work their way into his mind. McCartney credits 'time and patience and practice' for being able to sustain the physical toll of the role for an eight-show week, but confesses that it's not easy. There are several movement captains keeping an eye on the actor's stamina and he is greatly aided by finding 'an arc of movement' as the Mind Flayer gains control of Henry. 'We're starting it off basically as this baby Mind Flayer. And by the end of the play, it's like an alien, it's like a face hugger, and it's completely enveloping him,' describes McCartney as he demonstrates how the flick of his arms grows in intensity during the play. 'Creating a language through the movement was really important because I feel that much of the emotional breakdowns are in tandem with the physical breakdowns,' explains the actor, 'because one is his heart and his humanity, and the other is the Mind Flayer and the power that comes with that. And that's the character.' SIGN UP for Gold Derby's free newsletter with latest predictions Launch Gallery: 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow': Broadway sneak peek Best of GoldDerby 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends' 'Death Becomes Her' star Jennifer Simard is ready to be a leading lady: 'I don't feel pressure, I feel joy' 'Boop! The Musical' star Jasmine Amy Rogers uses her own 'quirky little eccentricities' to bring iconic cartoon character to life Click here to read the full article.
Buzz Feed
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Louis McCartney Stranger Things The First Shadow Interview
There are some spoilers ahead for Stranger Things: The First Shadow. First, what was the audition process like for Henry Creel? Since it's not just a play but something in the Stranger Things world, was the process pretty secretive? The play is directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, with Stephen being renowned for his work on Billy Elliot, The Crown, and more, and Justin having just directed Prima Facie with Jodie Comer. How was it working with the two of them on this show? What's your favorite movie? Or a performance that made you want to become an actor? Since we know where Henry Creel ultimately ends up in Stranger Things, did you take any inspiration from Jamie Campbell Bower's performance as Vecna/Henry in Stranger Things Season 4? Personally, my favorite characters are often the villains who you're able to find the humanity in, and that's exactly what happens in The First Shadow with us seeing Henry before he becomes Vecna. How was it finding the nuances in him and the childlike moments? So much so that the audience really can forget where Henry ends up. Is there a Stranger Things Easter egg or detail in The First Shadow that you love? Or one fans haven't spotted yet? The Stranger Things fanbase is so into it that one of the wildest parts of sitting in the theater is watching the reaction when the theme song plays for the first time. What is it like seeing that happen night after night? What's the last TV show you binge-watched? Or one you are hyperfixated on right now? Were you a Broadway fan growing up? One of the most important relationships in the play is Henry and Patty, who is Bob Newby's sister. How has it been working with Gabrielle Nevaeh, because the two of you have such great chemistry? Being the only cast member to carry over between productions, what have been some surprising differences (or similarities) between West End audiences and the Broadway audiences? Who have you been the most starstruck by? Or who've you been surprised to find out came and saw Stranger Things: The First Shadow? Stranger Things: The First Shadow is really an amazing technical feat, and unlike anything on Broadway right now. Is there an illusion or moment that's the most technically challenging to perform every night? If you were to create a playlist for Henry Creel, what songs would you put on it? What's one book or book series you think everyone should read at least once? And finally, what have been your favorite places to visit in New York City? You can catch Louis as Henry Creel in Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway now. For tickets and more info click here.
